The present invention relates generally to a casing article and, more particularly, to a cored casing article and to apparatus adapted to utilize the article in a stuffing operation.
Tubular casing articles and apparatus, as may be used for the high speed automatic production of encased food products, such as frankfurters or the like, are well known in the art. Such automatic high speed production requires that relatively long lengths of casing be supplied to the stuffing apparatus. It is conventional to supply the casing in the form of a compacted shirred tubular casing article called a "shirred stick." It is not uncommon for a shirred stick measuring 20 inches in length to contain upwards of 160 feet or more of casing. The sticks, which are coherent and resistant to breakage, can be handled by the mechanical loading apparatus of a stuffing machine. Conventional apparatus for stuffing and linking this entire casing length in less than a minute is also known in the art, one such apparatus being described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,668.
Briefly, in the operation of apparatus as described in the '668 patent, a shirred casing stick is automatically brought into axial alignment with the longitudinal axis of the stuffing horn of the stuffing machine. The stuffing horn then is moved axially through the bore of the shirred stick. This mounts the stick on the stuffing horn and locates the discharge end of the stuffing horn adjacent a fore end of the stick.
The fore end of the shirred casing stick then is engaged by a rotating chuck which spins the stick about the longitudinal axis of the stuffing horn. Food product, usually in the form of an emulsion, passes through the non-rotating stuffing horn and is discharged into the spinning casing to form the encased product. The encased product, which is also spinning, passes longitudinally through the rotating chuck to a linking mechanism.
The improved casing article of the present invention includes a substantially rigid tubular core member disposed within the bore of the casing stick. It is sufficient for purposes of the present invention that the inner periphery of the casing stick be in contact about the outer periphery of the tubular core, preferably over the full length of the casing stick. Moreover, this contact should be sufficient to provide a resistance to relative motion between the core and the casing stick. The core also should have as thin a wall as possible, yet be able to withstand the stresses generated by the casing being in contact about the core. In other words, the tubular core must not be so thin walled or weak as to buckle under the casing generated stresses.
Various advantages are exhibited by cored casing articles. For example a cored casing article has a greater coherency, that is a greater ability to resist breaking than a conventional shirred casing stick which does not have a tubular core member. Resistance to breaking renders the casing article better able to resist the rigors of manual handling and of automatic handling by the stuffing apparatus.
Another advantage is that due to the physical support offered by the core, a cored artical can contain a greater length of casing than an uncored article. This is a very desirable feature in automatic stuffing opertions since greater casing lengths translate to faster production and less machine downtime while a new casing article is being loaded into stuffing position.
Also, with longer casings there are fewer casing ends to deal with. This reduces labor involved in both tying stuffed casing lengths together for subsequent processing, and in removing food product from any malformed end links.
In any event, for purposes of the present invention, the shirred stick on the core is characterized as being in contact about the outer periphery of the core over substantially the full length of the stick. This contact provides a resistance to relative motion between the core and shirred stick which is sufficient to maintain the strand fixed to the core as the core rotates and as casing is deshirred from the strand.
All of these advantages obtain when using a cored casing article with a conventional stuffing horn. However, the cored casing article provides an additional advantage in that the core itself can function as a stuffing horn and in particular as a disposable, one-use stuffing horn. Here, the core would have an aft end attachable to the discharge of the stuffing machine and a fore end from which the food product exits for introduction into the casing.
In order to have the tubular core of the casing article replace the more conventional stuffing horn of the type shown in the '668 patent, both the casing article and the stuffing apparatus must be modified in several aspects. For example, the fore end of the tubular core and the rotating chuck of the stuffing machine must be compatible in that the chuck must be able to engage the fore end to rotate the core about a longitudinal axis. This enables the linking apparatus of the stuffing machine to function in a conventional manner.
Further, the discharge of the stuffing machine must be able to rotatably accommodate the aft end of the tubular core. Also, the discharge must include a seal means which prevents the leakage of the food product from the discharge and about the rotating core as the food product is introduced through the core and into the casing carried by the core.
Accordingly, in one embodiment, the apparatus of the present invention is provided with components which interface with a cored casing article to permit the core to function as the stuffing horn of the apparatus. In another embodiment the appartus has a conventional stuffing horn and is provided with the components needed to rotate the cored casing article about the stuffing horn.
These and other advantages, objects, and characterizing features of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following detailed description thereof, which is directed to a cored casing article having an improved core configuration to permit its use by an automatic stuffing machine, together with an improved rotating chuck assembly and discharge configuration for the machine to permit utilization of the improved cored article.